Charles "Chazz" Young (born November 8, 1932) is an American

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and teacher of

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely per ...

Early life and education

Young was born to father

Frankie Manning Frank Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009) was an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founders of Lindy Hop, an energetic form of the jazz dance style known as swing. Biography Manning was bo ...

, a dancer during the

swing era The swing era (also frequently referred to as the big band era) was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been aroun ...

, and mother Dorothy Young. In 1943, at the age of 11, he saw his father, who was a member of

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers Whitey's Lindy Hoppers was a professional performing group of exceptional swing dancers that was first organized in the late 1920s by Herbert "Whitey" White in the Savoy Ballroom and disbanded in 1942 after its male members were drafted into World ...

, perform for the first time. Young would practice dancing in the hallways during the lunch hour at school, while waiting for the train, and on the marble stoops. He learned tap dancing at the Mary Bruce School in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

, which is where he met his wife, Rheda. In 1956, he graduated from the New York School for the Performing Arts.

Career

After graduating in 1956, Young and his wife joined ''Norma Miller and Her Jazzmen'', formed by

Norma Miller Norma Adele Miller (December 2, 1919 – May 5, 2019) was an American Lindy hop dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian known as the "Queen of Swing". Early life Miller was born in 1919 in Harlem, New York City to mother Alma, a ch ...

. Young was a member of the group for 14 years. Young temporarily stopped dancing professionally after

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

became popular and clubs stopped hiring him. From the late 1960s through 1994, Young worked in a post office. In 1992, Young was a dance assistant in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's film ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of ...

''. Young has presented at

Herräng Dance Camp Herräng Dance Camp (commonly abbreviated HDC, officially Herräng Dance Camp Aktiebolag) is the largest annual dance camp that focuses on Lindy Hop, boogie woogie, Tap dance, jazz dance, and balboa. It is held for 5 weeks annually from la ...

and has taught in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Documentary appearances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Chazz 1932 births Living people African-American male dancers Place of birth missing (living people) American male dancers American choreographers American tap dancers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people